How do you say “Fall off the wagon” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is volver a beber, which literally means “to drink again”. English speakers use fall off the wagon to mean to start drinking alcohol again after a period without it. A direct paraphrase for returning to alcohol. It does not reproduce the wagon image or a joking tone. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
volver a beber
/bolˈβeɾ a βeˈβeɾ/
- Literal meaning
- “to drink again”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
This is the clearest choice when alcohol is the subject. The surrounding sentence should establish that the person had stopped drinking.
For other habits, change the verb after “volver a”. Saying “volver a comer dulces” keeps a lapse involving sweets separate from an alcohol relapse.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
After six months without alcohol, he fell off the wagon and asked for support.
Spanish
Después de seis meses sin alcohol, volvió a beber y pidió apoyo.
English
I fell off the wagon with my no-sweets plan and bought a bag of chocolates.
Spanish
Volví a comer dulces a pesar de mi propósito y compré una bolsa de bombones.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01